Why the Dog's Tail Wags
by Griselda Banks
Summary: Oneshot. Minor spoilers for OotP. All he really needs is a friend, someone to keep him company. But they're all leaving. Leaving him alone. What Sirius hadn't realized was how much one person, at least, cares for him.


**Author's Note: As I read _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ for the umpteenth time, I was suddenly struck by how lonely Sirius must have been. It was strange; I'd read that book many times before, and it had never hit me as hard as it did then. I was reading the part where everyone's leaving Grimmauld Place, and suddenly I simply had to write this fic. I'm not very proud of it; I don't think it was written very well.**

'Well, Buckbeak,' Sirius sighed moodily, 'looks like soon we'll be the only permanent residents here.'

The Hippogriff crooned sympathetically, nudging his shoulder fondly. Sirius absently ran his fingers through Buckbeak's smooth feathers, staring at the faded wallpaper and mouldy curtains of the wall opposite. As the days had passed, he had gradually become more and more melancholy. They would all leave soon, going their separate ways to carry on with their own lives. The children, Molly and Arthur, _everyone_. Remus claimed he was staying with Sirius, but Sirius knew better. Remus hardly showed up three times a week, and then only for a meeting or one of Molly's dinners. And with Molly gone, there would be even less reason for people to stick around. He was facing months of long, cold, lonely days with only Buckbeak and Kreacher for company. No _wonder_ he was melancholy!

Before his thoughts could continue, the door of the dank, musty little room creaked open a crack. Sirius looked up and saw his godson's face peeking from behind the door. 'Er...Sirius?' Harry asked tentatively, opening the door a little wider.

'Come in, Harry.' Sirius wished his voice didn't sound so glum, but there was little he could do about that.

Harry stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and bowed to Buckbeak. The Hippogriff bent his scaly knees and Harry reached out to pat him. A long silence passed between them as Sirius stared at his hands folded in his lap and tried to think of something to say. Harry stopped petting Buckbeak and sat down on the floor, leaning against the tarnished silver bedpost of the large bed in that room. Sirius took a dead rat from the nearly-empty bag beside him, imagined it was Wormtail, and tossed it to Buckbeak. The silence stretched on and on, growing steadily more uncomfortable with every passing moment. _Now's the time he makes some excuse and leaves, _Sirius thought bitterly, but he hardly cared. Harry would enjoy himself more with his cheerful friends than with his sulking godfather.

'Er...' Harry said softly, obviously thinking hard of what to say.

_Knew it,_ Sirius thought miserably._ No one wants to spend time with grouchy old Sirius. Grouchy old Sirius, who's rash and irresponsible and can't tell Harry from James._ A wave of sadness washed over him, and he found himself saying, 'Molly's right, you know. You look so much like your father, and I guess sometimes I just wish he was back. He was the best friend I'd ever had. The first friend I'd ever had as well. From that first night in Hogwarts, up till that night in October fourteen years ago, he was there for me. And Lily... She always seemed to know the right things to say. She'd give Peter courage; she'd tell Remus he wasn't a monster at heart. Both of them together, Lily and James, they could always make me happy again, at times when the whole world seemed to close in around me. And even today, their son still makes me happy.'

Sirius only looked up as he said this last sentence, and he saw that Harry was trying unsuccessfully to hide his face. He was stroking Buckbeak, pretending to scratch his nose as he wiped his eyes. But Sirius wasn't fooled; he could see the tears running down Harry's cheeks. Before Harry had time to dry his eyes, Sirius turned into his dog form and padded silently over to him. Tail wagging slowly, he licked Harry's salty cheeks until they were dry. Sirius whined and put his forepaws onto Harry's shoulders; Harry looked so much like James that it hurt, and he couldn't stand seeing Lily's eyes brimming over with tears. Harry hugged the dog and buried his face in the thick black fur; Sirius pressed his wet nose against Harry's cheek and whined, wagging his tail madly. He wished Harry could stay forever, for now Harry was the only one who could make him truly happy.


End file.
